Kimble leading Vikings back up standings

The NIC-10 is not traditionally a league flush with big post players. But a look around the conference shows a number of talented players with some pretty good size.

But the best big man in the conference may be the smallest post player around.

Quavion Kimble of Guilford, at 6-foot-1-inch, isn’t a very tall post player. But the senior is still an intimidating presence down low, where his muscle and brute strength help him overpower anyone in his way.

“He’s the type of kid that can take a game over,” East Head Coach Roy Sackmaster said of the Vikings star. “He’ll go through you and get put-backs. He’ll step back and hit a shot. He’s 6-foot-1, and he can play above the rim. He’s the key to their team.”

It’s not hard to figure out why the undersized center is so effective. If you ask anyone with the Vikings, they are quick to give you the answer.

“It’s his heart,” Guilford Head Coach Bobby Heisler said. “He works extremely hard. He works hard in practice and in the weight room. He’s a very good student. He always hits the glass hard. He’s the one guy we can always count on that is always going to attack the glass.”

And with that effort, Kimble has helped lead a balanced Vikings attack with 12 points and six rebounds a game. And thanks to that, Guilford also finds itself in the top half of the conference standings.

When things get tough for Guilford, Kimble is whom they turn to. He can create his own shot from anywhere on the court, and has range out to the 3-point line.

More than anything else, however, it’s his experience that is the key. The Vikings play mostly juniors, so the senior big man often has to show his younger teammates the right way to do things.

“They look to him,” Heisler said of his team leader. “He’s a senior, which is one part of it, but he’s a very good player. And it’s easy for the kids to respect that and to look for him for leadership, because he’s been there before. We have very limited experience on this team, and he’s provided a good example thus far.”